Shinhwa members Eric and Kim Dong Wan have moved on to a new phase in their relationship after being embroiled in a series of rumors about their feud.
Rumors about disbandment also followed after Eric made a post on his Instagram on the 14th. “Stop making groundless talks with people behind my back, and come to the group meeting if you want to talk. Let’s have a conversation if you have the heart to solve the problem,” he wrote, publically for Kim Don Wan.
As the post aroused controversy Kim Dong Wan also said, “We will have a conversation tomorrow with Shinhwa members. As this is an internal issue, I think it’s important for us to talk through it first. Apart from contacting me personally, I wish he had been able to answer the production team, who have been preparing since last year, and I wish he communicated with them so that they could work smoothly,” expressing his disappointment.
To this, Eric hit back once again through his SNS explaining his long cut-off with Kim Don Wan stating, “He has never been in the group chat for 6 years since 2015, and I don’t even have his new number after the block.” On the post, Kim Dong Wan commented, “I talked to Andy on the phone at around 6 o’clock so we three can meet and talk tomorrow. I guess you haven’t been told yet, I will go to Seoul so let’s meet face-to-face and talk.”
Some expressed concern as they raised rumors of Shinhwa’s disbandment after the two showed a serious conflict between them. In response, Kim Dong Wan said “rumors of disbandment are nonsense,” as he appeared as a guest on Naver NOW’s YesCINE on the afternoon of the 15th. He directly refuted the claims, explaining, “We will accept, understand, and learn from some rumors, but all six of us are trying hard to filter what’s right and wrong and to endure them.”
After the two finally met up, they simultaneously posted pictures of Soju shot glasses on their SNS accounts, revealing that they were in discussion. Eric wrote, “After the things we have been upset about for a long time have piled up, we have a lot to talk about. The members are trying to find a solution, so if you are a fan of Shinhwa I ask you to stop criticizing any particular member, and wait.” Kim Dong Wan also posted saying, “I have met up with the members, and we are now talking. There has been a lot of misunderstandings over a long course of time, so we are trying to talk as candidly as we can.”
On the morning of the 16th, the day after the meeting, Eric posted a photo on Instagram. Thought seemingly like a normal picture from inside the studio, an orange on the chair stands out. Fans took it as a sign of reconciliation. Especially as orange is the color that represents Shinhwa, their fans, and have been used for the group’s merchandise and balloons.
Kim Dong Wan, too, made a lengthy post on SNS along with a video to deliver the results of the meeting. “First of all, I am sorry to make a lot of commotion about personal matters. As we got out of touch due to the accumulation of minor misunderstandings, this led to bigger misjudgments of each other. As we neglected each other without solving the problem, it led to us expressing our opinions through our SNS accounts. I apologize again to everyone who may have felt distressed due to this,” he wrote.
